Category Archives: Events

I was more nervous than usual for The Blogcademy‘s London leg. Not only did we have two sold out classes to do (oh the added pressure!) but being on my own turf I really felt like it was little old me that had to make sure it delivered – like if it wasn’t as awesome as the New York event it would all be my fault. Oh and the weather decided to go all kinds of cray cray two days beforehand too. That’s always fun.

But I need not have worried. With my fellow headmistresses by my side and 60 eager bloggers waiting in the wings we had the best time ever! The English, Irish, Scottish & Welsh contingent all turned out in force and, yet again, we had many an international babe flying in especially for the occasion. Vienna, Estonia, Sweden, Canada and New York were all represented and they were eager to laugh and learn with us all weekend!

I could bang on and on about how amazing the two workshops were for an age, but honestly, our graduates did it so much better than I ever could. So instead, I’m handing the reigns over to them…

“Well I have to say that it was officially the greatest weekend I’ve ever experienced! I have never in all my days, felt so inspired or excited in my life. My head is jam packed with ideas, my notebook is full and my head is now covered in sparkly bows and bunny-ears”. Emma Rose Black

“Something inside has clicked. I’ve done B-School, I’ve read numerous books & listened to countless voices, but the bringing together of like minded souls is something really special. So for now I just wanted to say from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the time, energy & love you put into The Blogcademy. It truly feels like a gift that will keep on giving and one that will enable me to grow and pass on the gifts I have for the benefit of others.” Jayne Rusby

Well I’m finally back at my desk after two weeks of non-stop craziness with The Blogcademy gang. And although I’m missing my girls like crazy, I have to say it’s pretty damn good to be home. My head is spinning with everything that’s happened over the past fortnight. In fact it’s whirring so much that I’m struggling to even form sentences…

From epic London adventures to two sold out Blogcademys and a talk at Farm Week…. From a whirlwind Parisian jaunt to shooting with the incredible Brooke Davis, the adorable Juliane Berry, the supreme Lisa Devlinand the vivacious and infectiously upbeat Shell De Mar (sheesh what a bunch of posers!) I am SPENT. Completely and utterly beat.

The London Blogcademys were nothing short of incredible. Like, seriously mind-blowing. I am forever in debt to the 60 (!) guys & gals who spent two whole days with us, each of them battling sleet, snow and precarious public transport to make it to the beautiful Curtain Road Studios in Shoreditch.

I am so immensely grateful to the ridiculously talented Richard Wakefield of FX Media for being there to capture the magic on film, to Lisa Devlin & Emily Quinton for guest teaching and to Shell de Mar for snapping away mercilessly.

I’ll be sharing much more about what went on at both events over the coming weeks, but I couldn’t resist posting Richard’s amazing video today…

Let’s be honest, there are A LOT of wedding fairs to choose from these days. In fact British brides & grooms have never had so much choice. Which is clearly awesome, but let’s be honest, it can be quite confusing. How on earth are you supposed to know which ones are the best and which ones to actually go to? Aren’t they all the same anyway?

Well today I’m here to share with you just one of the shows that I think you should check out. I went along last year (and judged an award!) and I can hand-on-my-heart say that The Most Curious Wedding Fair is one of the goodies. If you like all things vintage – but with a twist – then this is the fair for you. Think less cute mismatched crockery, cupcakes and bunting and more quirky, awesome and almost slightly weird (but certainly wonderful) wedding ideas. High fashion inspiration sits with ideas you didn’t even know existed, and the fashion show is more of a modern dance performance than anything else – something hugely influenced by artist and set designer Gemma Goodwin joining the Most Curious events team in 2011.

“Cool wedding fairs are almost becoming exactly like the very weddings that they initially rebelled against – a little bit cookie cutter and a little bit formulaic”, writes organiser Becky Hoh-Hale. “You almost know what to expect and a lot of them are already very set in their ways. Well with A Most Curious Wedding Fair I really want to push above the parapet, and to let it stand apart and do it’s own thing. We still love classic vintage but today ‘vintage’ can be so much more. A Most Curious has taken a solemn vow to bring you the emerging fashions but to be changeable, en vogue and never tired or standing still. If it’s beautiful, fresh, cool or just about to be cool, we will incorporate it into our wedding fair! We want you to see actual new ideas that you can incorporate into your day in your own way.”

No sooner had we wrapped the first London Blogcademy, than Gala, Shauna & I were ferociously planning for the weekday instalment. We’re kicking off our second event today and we couldn’t be more excited! Reworking the presentation, tweaking our delivery and coming up with brand new ideas, we are adamant to make every session even better than the last. In fact we spent most of our ‘day off’ (i,e. day of shopping) stopping every five minutes to brainstorm. Gala scrawled musings on her Wagamama place mat and I sent Shauna more jam-packed emails full of notes than I think she really expected.

Even though I’ve been to London a squillion times, there’s something very different about being in the city with some friends who are seeing it all for the first time. Freaking out over old fashioned phone boxes, fumbling with our colourful currency and taking a trip to the shoe shopping mecca that is Selfridges. I also think Shauna nearly died and went to heaven walking into the Liberty stationery section.

The snow may be falling but we are so bloomin’ excited for the first London Blogcademy this weekend. We have our woolly hats packed and our (semi) sensible shoes ready to go! But we couldn’t forget about you, dear blog reader. Gala shot this footage on her phone as we set up at the studios yesterday. Isn’t the space beautiful?